Pride and Pendragon
by WritingOpensTheWorld
Summary: Guinevere Leodegrance leads a pleasant, though chaotic due to younger sisters, life. However when Avalon hall is let at last, and a Mr Pendragon comes to town, her life is placed on a different path, filled with pride, prejudice and love.
1. Avalon Hall Let At Last

**Chapter One: Avalon Hall Let At Last**

Her fingers trailed along the clothing that swung in the wind, playing the threads like keys on a piano. A flurry of wavy black hair flew across her face, obscuring her normally sparkling brown eyes. It was that moment of peace, when the sun first rose and her younger sisters were still struggling their way out of bed, her mother snoring in her bed, her father reading his books. She spun around, feeling her skirt whip up around her as she sucked in the crisp fresh air. The Leodegrance Estate was nothing to extreme, a house big enough to fit a family with five daughters just fine.

"Guinevere!" yelled a voice in the distance, and Gwen turned to see her oldest sister Freya waving frantically out the window to her. Time for breakfast, she supposed. She gave a smile in regard to her sister, who returned it with her normally astoundingly capturing smile. How any man resisted it she never knew. Knowing that Eira would take all of the bread if she did not hurry, she quickly rushed into the house. Freya of course had someone beaten her down the stairs without a bead of sweat on her face, she looked as beautiful as ever. Her beautiful black hair, unlike Gwen's that refused to be trained, hung in gentle waves, framing her sculpted face. Freya's eyes held such a kindness, only too accurate unfortunately for her sister who seemed to always find the good in people. Gwen worried that one day, a man would trample all over Freya's heart.

"Move out of the way Sefa!" yelled a shrill voice as two sets of feet thundered down the stairs, shoving past one of the housekeepers on the way. It made Gwen roll her eyes. Eira was the youngest of the sisters, and was more trouble than the rest of the family put together. And with her mother that was a statement indeed. Her flirtatious and bold nature often meant she spoke with her foot in her mouth, a complete disregard for social decorum. Sefa followed in the footsteps of Eira, and in a literal sense. Where one went, the other was not far behind. If only Sefa had been responsible for herself, Eira might have been pushed towards maturity slightly more. Then again at fifteen from the youngest of five sisters, what else could be expected of Eira?

"Do not push me," complained Sefa, as she stumbled into the dining room behind Eira, an upset look on her face. Eira ignored her, as always and started to dig into the food before everyone else arrived. Sefa slumped into the set beside her, muttering under her breath, until Eira slapped her, and she started to complain once more.

"Will the two of you," started Gwen before their mother rushed in. In her nightwear, Alice looked even madder than she normally was. Often she believed the sole reason of her mother's existence was to ensure her daughters married off rich. Her mousy brown hair was a tangled mess, she clearly had not brushed it yet this morning. Her blue-grey eyes seemed dulled, yet to awake with insanity this morning. Immediately her face perked up when she saw Eira, her undebatable favourite sitting at the table. All of them knew it, and they knew why. Eira reminded her of herself, turn back the clock thirty years though. They shared the same steely blue eyes, and apparently once upon a time, their mother had shared Eira's flowing golden locks. Gwen doubted it. Sefa by comparison was slightly plainer, mirroring the image of Gwen. Brown hair, brown eyes. But she lacked that sparkle that Freya held in her eyes, or the fierceness that Gwen had.

Last to stumble into the dining room was Kara. The plainest of all the sisters by general opinion. She combined the darker black locks of Freya with blue eyes, but for some reason she was not considered pretty. She silently sat down at the table, a courteous nod to the family. Her social skills seemed to match her piano skills, neither she possessed.

"Will father be joining us?" asked Freya, turning to face her mother.

"Well I do hope so!" yelled Alice, sitting up in her seat and reaching for bread. "I have news to share," she continued, hoping to build suspense with her daughters. As per normal, it worked only with Eira and Sefa.

"Well then my dear, do continue," said their father as he walked into the room. Gwen smiled when she saw Gaius come into the room. Their father was still spirited, in his own ways though. He had long grey-white hair that feel around his wrinkled face. His brown eyes winked at Gwen and her smile grew. "I would hate for the room to bottle over with excitement," he muttered, earning him a hateful stare from his wife.

"Oh Mr. Leodegrance, you do tease me so. And with my poor nerves, heaven knows how I cope," said Alice, dramatically waving her hand.

"Mother!" yelled Eira. "What was the news you had for us?" she asked, as impatient as ever.

"Avalon hall has been let at last. A Mr. Ambrosius, supposedly he has £5000 a year! Just imagine that! And to make the news even more exciting…" started Alice, waiting for a daughter to step in.

"Let me take an educated guess," said Gwen with a roll of her eyes. Her mother must have been an actress in a past life, with the flair she had for drama. "He is single?" asked Gwen and her mother clapped her hands.

"Oh my dears, yes is he! And I see no reason why he cannot find a wife among my daughters, after all a man in possession of a great fortune…."

"Must be in want of a wife," muttered Freya and Gwen in time.

"Mr. Leodegrance, you must go over there and introduce yourself immediately, then the rest of us may meet him. Then he can fall in love with one of our daughters, and we will be saved from being homeless when you are dead, and your cousin turns us out!" started Alice once more, insanity piercing every word. Of course, the priority was the money, regardless of how handsome Mr. Ambrosius was, in Alice's eyes, he would be absolutely perfect for any of the girls who caught his eye.

"My dear, it is breakfast, and I have a busy day ahead so I shall do no such thing. My workspace is in desperate need of a clean-up," said Gaius, reaching for his own food. Gwen realised what was about to happen and quickly finished her bread.

"May I be excused?" she requested, aware that this was about to be a social situation that no one would willingly put themselves in. Her father nodded, but as soon as he did her mother waved her hand.

"No you may not! Does it not concern you? Your father refuses to go and see the man who can provide us all with security! He will condemn us all to ruin!" yelled Alice.

"There would be no point to my visiting Mr. Ambrosius, my dear," said Gaius, keeping a quiet tone. He stood from the table with a sigh. "For I already have gone to see him," he finished, and immediately Alice, Eira and Sefa jumped from their seats all filled with excitement. Gwen sighed, not being able to care even remotely less, an expression shared by Kara, whilst Freya had a small smile dancing on her face.

"Oh father, do tell us what he was like!" begged Eira, running to grab her father's hands. Of course, Gaius had no choice but to tell her.

"He was a very agreeable man, extremely polite and kind," he murmured, and looked around the room. "I would happily give my consent for him to marry anyone of my daughters," he finished and Alice rushed to give her husband a large hug, which Gaius begrudgingly accepted. "He will also be attending the assembly ball. Now if you will excuse me there is work to be done," he said, rushing out of the room.

"Oh Mr. Leodegrance!" yelled Alice after him. "How you tease us!" she added, before turning in a flurry to face the girls.

"Oh Freya, there is so much for us to do," she blurted out, and rushed over to her. "We must make you so absolutely perfect for the ball! You must be the one to catch the eye of Mr. Ambrosius!" she continued in a rushed tone, dragging Freya from the room, Eira and Sefa in tow.

"Oh what a ball this shall be," muttered Gwen. With a laugh she headed out of the room. "I wonder if Mr. Ambrosius is as handsome as he is rich….."

**Just an introduction, so a short chapter. Please review, and let me know what you think, and who you think the characters will be!**


	2. The Assembly Ball

Alice fussed around the house, desperate to make Freya look even more perfect than she already did. Gwen threaded fake white flowers through her miraculously well behaved hair. Normally it would have frizzed completely out of control and made the evening a nightmare. Tonight however, it seemed as though destiny wished for her hair to be pinned up and her eyes on display. To Gwen though, her eyes were plain. Nothing like those of Freya. There was a reason her beauty was famed in the town, and though Gwen loved her sister more than anything in the world, she could not help but be a tiny bit jealous. Freya would no doubt marry well, and for love, and be happy. With Gwen's plainer looks and sarcastic nature, she would be a spinster.

"Girls!" yelled Alice running from door to door. "Come on! Come on, we must not be late, let Mr Ambrosius see another girl first and be deluded into marrying her. No it must be Freya, our beautiful Freya…." Gwen droned her out. She was sick to death of her mother's ranting and yelling and voice. Freya rushed into the room desperate for a moment away from the insane prattling of their mother.

"Well," said Gwen with a cheek smile. "If every man does not end the evening completely in love with you then I am no judge of beauty," she said, clasping her sister's arms and twirling her.

"Or men," wittily added Jane. Another trait to add to her perfect sister, her seemingly endless intelligence. Her only flaw was caring too much, or perhaps believing in everyone too much. Either way it made her an even more perfect wife to be.

"They are far too easy to judge," replied Gwen. "Humorless poppycocks, in my limited experience," she muttered. After all, she failed to interact with men due to society's constructs. That and a small town as well.

"One of these days my dear Gwen, a man will catch your eye, and then you will have to watch your sharp tongue," warned Freya, jabbing her sister in the ribs. Well, thought Gwen, if a man ever caught my eye he would have to take my sharp tongue as part of the package.

"Hurry all of you!" yelled Alice, rushing them down to a carriage. Normally Alice liked them to be late, apparently it was a sign of class. If there was one thing Gwen would never take from her mother, it was her version of class. However a certain man had her eager to get Freya there and in his eyeline. Gwen remained silent in the carriage, droning out her mother. The moment they arrived at the hall, the music filled her ears. She liked the freedom from her mother that often came with these social gatherings, but more importantly she had the chance to catch up with her best friends. Her eyes darted through the crowd, before they fell on the raven black hair of Morgana Lucas. Gwen raced over and the two shared a tight hug.

"How are you my dear friend?" laughed Gwen, and Morgana smiled.

"All the better for seeing you Gwen," she joked back. Freya ran over and gave Morgana a hug as well. The three found a place at the edge of the dancers and quickly became engrossed in the latest gossip, of course about the mysterious Mr. Ambrosius. The only topic worth talking about. Time seemed to fly, until it all froze.

The room had felt alive, as couples danced, friends conversed and Alice drank. But from the moment they entered, the music came to a halt and silence befall the room. The deathly silence that hangs with a mixture of fear and awe when such a rich presence enters a room. They inched their way through the parting sea of dresses and suits, leaving a clear path in their wake.

On the right stood a man with spiked black hair, whose styling had clearly been abandoned. He stood with a smile on his face, apparently happy to be in the room with so many cheerful people. His air was polite, kind and warming. The same could not be said for his two companions. On the left was a woman, blonde curls falling around her almost too perfect face, a smirk gracing it. She thought she was above all this, in a higher place in society, which she was. In the middle stood the man who caught Gwen's eye. He had blonde hair, that artfully fell over his face so as to not cover his cold, intimidating eyes. His boredom was made clear in a single glance.

"How good of you to come," said Morgana's father. They all bowed to each other. Even in that you could see the difference between the characters of all three. The black haired man bowed lower than the rest, clearly not thinking it below his stature.

"So which of the painted peacocks is our Mr. Ambrosius?" whispered Gwen to Morgana, drifting her eyes away from the blonde man. He had already irritated her, without so much as a word.

"Well he is on the right and on the left is his sister, Vivian," she quickly whispered back. The luck of having her father was that Morgana met most of the important visitors to town first. Unfortunately that had not translated into an offer of marriage yet. Probably due to Morgana having issues with talking to men. She never seemed to be able to get the right words out, Gwen suspected it was due to her desire not to marry. But that was a pure guess.

"And the person with the quizzical brow?" asked Gwen, her eyes once more drawn back to the intimidating figure. His stance looked more firm than an officer before his captain.

"That is his good friend Mr Arthur Pendragon," added Morgana, who looked between Gwen and Arthur with interest.

"He looks miserable poor sod," muttered Gwen, staring at him once more.

"Miserable he may be but poor he is not," smirked Morgana. Of course she knew, she always knew.

"Tell me," demanded Gwen.

"10,000 a year and he owns half of Albion," she said, proud of knowing something Gwen did not. It happened on a rare occasion. And Morgana loved it when she could hold it over Gwen.

"The miserable half?" asked Gwen, drawing sniggers from both her and Morgana, and a slightly disapproving stare from Freya. Oh her sister, always wanting to seek the best in people and be kind.

They bowed as the group walked past, and Gwen raised her eyes to meet those of Mr Pendragon. He stared at her for only a moment before his gaze fell to somewhere, no doubt more important. She noticed Mr Ambrosius' eyes fall on Freya for a moment, and unlike his friend they stayed on her a moment longer. Once the party had reached the front of the room, the orchestra started once more and the room filled with life. Hands were grabbed and dances resumed. Gwen saw her mother whispering to her father, and knew it was only a matter of time before they were dragged to meet Mr. Ambrosius. Alice quickly danced across the room to them, seizing Freya's arm and dragging her towards the front of the room. Freya in turn kept a tight hold of Gwen, her safety net.

"Mr Merlin Ambrosius, my eldest daughter you know," said Morgana's father as she bowed her head. "Mrs Leodegrance, Miss Freya Leodegrance, Miss Guinevere Leodegrance and Miss Kara Leodegrance," he introduced, each bowing upon their name.

"Oh it is a pleasure," quickly jumped in Alice, eager to maintain the interest of Mr. Ambrosius. "I have two others but they are already dancing," she added, giving a wave to the crowd of dancers. She knew they did not matter. Were any of her daughters to catch Merlin's eye, it would be Freya, so it was only her presence that was ultimately required.

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance," spluttered Merlin, his eyes not breaking from Freya's face. Well mother, thought Gwen, you may just have a victory waiting for you here.

"And may I introduce Mr Arthur Pendragon of Camelot and Albion," added Morgana's father, motioned towards him. Even his name and title sounded pretentious. Gwen knew she was being judgemental, but with the high and mighty Mr. Pendragon her fears would probably prove accurate. She noticed his eyes briefly flitter across hers, and she had to stop herself from sniggering. He acted with such pride.

Sure Gwen was full of prejudice, but Arthur Pendragon was the embodiment of pride.


End file.
